BBGH Respiratory Therapy Dept. providing free lung screening Jan. 31

Respiratory Therapist Richard Hunter, RTT, shows how simple the lung screen will be, with the help of BBGH staff member Meg Craig’s help.

The Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Respiratory Therapy Department will be hosting a free lung screening for the public Tuesday January 31 from 9:00 to 11:00am and 3:00-5:00pm in the RT treatment room. Those wishing to take advantage of the screening should use the main entrance of the hospital. Staff will be on hand in the Specialty Clinic area of the new addition to greet those attending. “This entails a basic Spirometry exam that will immediately let us know, via a computer generated report, if there is any lung disease for the person taking the test,” said Respiratory Therapist Richard Hunter, RRT. “This free screening will allow that person to follow up with their physician or mid-level provider.”

He added that the test if very simple, with a mask and hose hooked up recording that’s linked to a laptop (see photo). “The person taking the test puts the mask on,” he said. “I’ll then ask him or her to take a deep breath, then tell them to ‘blow, blow, blow.’ Then take another deep breath. We’ll do that three times to calibrate. After that we’ll have the results to give them. If something turns up, they can then contact their physician or mid-level practitioner for follow up.”

Mr. Hunter demonstrating the new MGC Diagnostics Platinum Elite™ Series Body Plethysmograph, with the help of BBGH staff member Gail Burke.

Respiratory Therapist Michael Baribeau, RRT, said the free lung screening is being held in order for their department to promote their new MGC Diagnostics Platinum Elite™ Series Body Plethysmograph (see photo). “There are no other hospitals in the Panhandle who have this type of testing machine,” he said. The nearest hospitals that do are in North Platte, Rapid City or northern Colorado. “It is designed to obtain the highest quality measurement with unparalleled ease, speed and comfort for both the technologist and the patient,” he continued. “The patient is completely enclosed in what we call a Body Box. Once the clear glass door is sealed, the box is pressurized in order to provide us a wide range of tests that most Respiratory Departments aren’t able to do.” The types of tests the BBGH Respiratory Department will now be able to do include: Spirometry (a test used to assess how well lungs work by measuring how much air is inhaled, how much is exhaled and how quick the exhale is); Thoracic gas volumes (The volume of gas contained within the chest during body plethysmography when the mouth shutter is closed); Airways resistance; Respiratory mechanics; and DLco (Diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide).

“Those tests will tell us, and the provider, if there are any restrictive/obstructive disorders or diffusion defects going on,” Mr. Hunter said.

Anyone with questions about the free lung screening can contact the Respiratory Therapy Department at 761.1533.

Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.